Death, smoke and silence: Hauz Rani wakes up to deadliest hotel fire

By Wednesday afternoon, the narrow lanes of Hauz Rani village had fallen eerily silent. The smell of burnt concrete and lingering smoke had replaced the usual bustle of patients’ attendants, shopkeepers and hotel guests.

Residents stood in clusters, speaking in hushed tones about the tragedy that had unfolded just hours earlier at Flourish Stay B&B, where at least 21 people were killed and several others injured in a devastating fire. Several foreign nationals from Central Asia and Africa, along with a few Indians, lost their lives. Around 10 police personnel sustained injuries.

The blaze broke out around 8.50 am at the five-storey hotel, located in a congested lane of South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area. The building, which allegedly had four to five rooms on each floor and a restaurant in its basement, had only a single entry and exit route. Soon after the fire erupted, thick black smoke engulfed the structure, trapping dozens inside.

Firefighters, disaster response teams, police personnel and ambulance services descended on the locality as a massive rescue operation unfolded after the Delhi Fire Service received a distress call.

Just a day earlier, Flourish Stay had appeared like any other budget accommodation. With a 4.1-star rating on Google, it was a preferred option for relatives and patients undergoing treatment at local hospitals. On Wednesday, however, the building stood blackened and gutted, its windows shattered and walls charred.

“It was a major accident. Nothing appears to have survived inside,” said a member of the forensic team examining the site. “We are collecting evidence to determine how the fire spread.”

Residents described scenes of panic and desperation as locals, police personnel, and emergency responders struggled to save those trapped inside.

Shahid, who runs a mobile repair shop opposite the hotel, said he was asleep when the fire broke out. “I was called and rushed here. Had the fire brigade arrived earlier, perhaps the damage would not have been this extensive,” he said.

Abdul Karim, a resident of Hauz Rani village, recalled seeing police officers risking their lives to save trapped occupants.

“The smoke was choking. A local police officer used a hammer and stones to break windows so people could escape. His hands were burned in the process. I saw a woman and a child jump from a window. The child allegedly got entangled in electric wires,” Karim said. He added that the hotel’s location in a cramped neighbourhood with narrow lanes and limited ventilation may have worsened the situation.

A few metres away, Shoaib, who lives about 100 metres from the hotel, said: “When we reached around 8.45 am, we brought mattresses and blankets from a nearby shop to help people jump from the building. Most of the guests we saw appeared to be foreigners. A piece of broken glass pierced my foot while helping with the rescue,” he said.

Sanjay Goyal, who owns a grocery store nearby, said the suffocating smoke was visible across the locality. “Along with a beat constable, locals broke glass windows using stones to rescue people. My hands were slightly burnt. The smoke was unbearable,” he said.

Questions are also being raised about the hotel’s safety measures. The Pioneer visited another branch of Flourish Inn, just walking distance from the now-gutted building. A woman from Nepal, whose relative is being treated at Max Hospital, said hotel staff at another branch of Flourish Inn had suggested she move to the affected property just four to five days ago.

“Thankfully, I did not shift,” she said. The woman and her relative occupied a room with a small kitchen on the building’s terrace. “We can cook our meals in this kitchen, as well,” she said.

Additionally, we did not find any staff members or hotel officials at this Flourish Inn branch. This branch also has a single entry and exit point, and a basement.

Locals also told The Pioneer that Lovkesh Bajaj, the owner of Flourish Inn, operates several other guesthouses and hotel properties in the Hauz Rani-Malviya Nagar area. Police have registered an FIR under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and are investigating alleged safety violations at the property. The owner remains at large.

Doctors treating the injured said smoke inhalation likely caused many of the fatalities. Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, Group Medical Director at Max Healthcare, explained that toxic gases generated during fires often prove deadlier than flames.